Brutal
Rogue Ales

BrutalBrutal
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From:
Rogue Ales
 
Oregon, United States
Style:
English IPA
ABV:
6.2%
Score:
89
Avg:
3.96 | pDev: 10.86%
Reviews:
1,136
Ratings:
2,342
Status:
Active
Rated:
Nov 26, 2021
Added:
Aug 28, 2001
Wants:
  104
Gots:
  299
Formerly known as Brutal IPA, Brutal Bitter Ale, and Portland State IPA (2010).

An Imperial bitter with exotic traditional floor malts, citrusy, hoppy flavor and stupendous hop aroma. Rogue brewmaster John Maier describes his Brutal IPA as a cross between a Very Extra Special Bitter and an Indian Pale Ale. Hedonistic!

8 INGREDIENTS: 2-Row, Carawheat, C15 & Rogue Farms Dare™ & Risk™ Malts; Rogue Farms Alluvial™ Hops; Free Range Coastal Water & Pacman Yeast.

15° Plato / 46 IBU / 81 AA / 13° Lovibond
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by MJR:
Photo of MJR
Reviewed by MJR from Missouri

4.15/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance: Pours a great looking pale amber with copper edges. There's a bit of chill haze. It's light tan head starts out rich and full, and slowly shrinks down to a solid cap that leaves a thick ring at every sip mark.

Smell: Like the bottle brags, this one has a stupendous hop aroma! Lots of citrus, most notably grapefruit. Under that is a solid foundation of the distinct, sweet Maris Otter base malt.

Taste: The flavor is firmly bitter, with the Crystal hops being the center of attention from beginning to end. Again, there's lots of citrus, with a huge amount of grapefruit. A bit of pine resin as well. The clean bitterness tends to overshadow the rich Maris Otter malt a bit, but it still manages to break through the seemingly impenetrable wall of hops. Finishes like it began, bitter and hoppy, along with a slighty burnt character and a touch of alcohol.

Mouthfeel: Medium in body, with a dry finish that borders on astringent.

Drinkability: Yet another solid brew from Rogue. Basically an overhopped ESB, this is a beer I could drink on a regular basis. It's slighty alcoholic finish and strength prevent it from being any kind of session beer though.
Aug 13, 2003
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.94 by LesDewitt4beer from Minnesota

Nov 26, 2021
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

3.89/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
12 fl. oz. bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Deep golden to orange colour, hazy, big white head. Very nice aroma of fruity Crystal hops, notes of oranges and tropical fruits. The flavour is distinctly hoppy from start to finish, "bitter" - well yes indeed, but not "brutal". Fairly dry, a more pronounced maltiness would not hurt. Still, a very pleasant and drinkable beer as it is.
Dec 06, 2020
 
Rated: 3.74 by dexterk1 from Illinois

Jun 05, 2020
 
Rated: 4.31 by jmbeerdude91 from Arizona

Jan 05, 2020
 
Rated: 3.35 by Zazzi82 from Tennessee

Oct 16, 2019
 
Rated: 2.75 by Shenk87 from Pennsylvania

May 06, 2019
Photo of RyanK252
Reviewed by RyanK252 from California

4/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
On tap at Rogue Brewer's on the Bay

A: Pours copper amber with a frothy being head that settles to a light layer and leaves some nice lacing.

S: Floral, slightly spicy herbal notes, a touch of citrus, toasty bready malt, and a little caramel toffee sweetness.

T: Floral leads the way, slightly herbal notes, a bit of cirtus, orange and lemon, slightly toasty bready malt, and a little almost toffee sweetness.

M: Medium body, moderate carbonation.

O: I am a sucker for a good English IPA so this hits the spot.
Apr 16, 2019
 
Rated: 3.25 by edc20 from Oregon

Feb 21, 2019
 
Rated: 5 by Kwright from North Carolina

Jan 24, 2019
 
Rated: 3.49 by jimpyle48 from Virginia

Dec 29, 2018
 
Rated: 2.42 by Helgi from Iceland

Dec 17, 2018
 
Rated: 4.18 by dafla67 from Pennsylvania

Dec 10, 2018
 
Rated: 3 by RickyBfromCT from Connecticut

Dec 05, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by 123321123321 from Alabama

Nov 08, 2018
 
Rated: 4.03 by eng_lee from Singapore

Nov 02, 2018
 
Rated: 3.72 by Unclevince from West Virginia

Sep 01, 2018
 
Rated: 3.91 by tylerjin from Michigan

Aug 30, 2018
 
Rated: 3.33 by ClintGoodman from Iowa

Aug 26, 2018
Photo of VoodooBear
Reviewed by VoodooBear from Puerto Rico

2.96/5  rDev -25.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3
Presentation: 12 oz. brown bottle, served in a tulip glass.

Appearance: Small one finger head that goes away quickly. Cloudy dark gold color. The lacing is pretty weak.

Smell: It's not that aromatic. There's some piney hop notes, some citrus peel and grain.

Taste: It starts with a big tangerine, citrus, hoppy taste and then transitions to a strong caramel malt backbone as it goes down. Neither one is dominant and there's a good balance between bitterness and sweetness.

Mouthfeel: Medium high carbonation and cloying. Not much to say here.

Overall: Rogue describes this as "a cross between a Very Extra Special Bitter and an Indian Pale Ale." The description is quite fitting and it makes for a an interesting beer, but not an outstanding or incredibly good one. The taste profile is nice but the lack of aroma and the cloying mouth feel knock it down a couple of pegs.
Aug 25, 2018
Brutal from Rogue Ales
Beer rating: 89 out of 100 with 2342 ratings